Facts about monkeys!

When I was at the age of 5 and so, I would usually get so excited over seeing a monkey especially in Batu Caves. But ever since we moved to the current house my family and I are living in, my reaction is not the same as it used to be when I was young. This is solely because about ten feet away from my back yard is a reserved forest which means there are plenty of wildlife living there and monkeys are one of them. I am so used to seeing them over the years that I can now differentiate between one monkey with another and we even have names for them. Despite having seen them for about more than ten years, it still fascinates me whenever I read facts that I never knew about them. Here are some of the facts about monkeys that you would want to know.

Firstly, monkeys are so common everywhere that they are known to live all over the world and come in various shapes, sizes and colors. As one of our closest relatives, these mammals are very intelligent and have opposable thumbs, allowing them to use tools and play games. There are more than 260 different types of monkeys. They are separated into two major categories: New World and Old World. The New World monkeys live in the Americas, while Old World monkeys live in Asia and Africa. One difference between the two categories is that Old World monkeys don't have prehensile tails whereas New World monkeys do. Old World monkeys have special pouches in their cheek where they can store food. Old World monkeys have rump pads, but New World monkeys do not. Also, Old World monkeys' nostrils are small and curved and set close together but most New World monkeys have round nostrils set far apart.

Many people think that monkeys just eat bananas, but that is not true. Monkeys are omnivores. This means that they eat meat and plant-based foods. Most monkeys eat nuts, fruits, seeds and flowers. Some monkeys also eat meat in the form of bird's eggs, small lizards, insects and spiders. But sometimes, the monkeys at our backyard even munch on bread and that is all sorts of bread. They do not seem to be picky at all. Other than that, most monkeys live in trees, but there are some that live in savannas or mountain areas. Monkey tribes stay on the move to find food, so one location is not home for very long. As one troop leaves, another comes and this goes on and on endlessly as we are currently seeing the fifth troop if I am not mistaken. Only one or two chose to stay and gets along very well with the new troop

While many monkey species are not in danger, there are some that are very close to extinction. For instance, according to a research, there are only 150 Tonkin Snub-Nosed monkeys in existence. Another monkey on the list is the Tana River Red Colobus. There are fewer than 1,000 of these monkeys left in the world. Both are listed on the 25 Most Endangered Primates list published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission Primate Specialist Group.

Monkeys may seem dangerous at one point but once you get used to them and vice versa, I doubt there will anything for one to be afraid of them. Well that is of course if you do not pose any threat to them. To get to know more on this chapter of monkeys, feel free to surf this website and check on them. http://facts.randomhistory.com/2008/12/15_monkeys.html

3 to 5 ingredient recipes for students who lives in hostel

I am student who lives in a hostel in Tanjung Malim, Perak while my family is back in Puchong, Selangor. I cannot go back and forth from class to home so it was high time that I had to stay in an out-of-campus hostel which means no proper food source. Living in Taman Bahtera, I have faced difficulties in getting three meals per day where I had to go to an extent of having one meal per day. It is even worse if the degree students are not around. Out of four food stalls, only one would be open. That also will only be opened in the afternoon. I could take a bus and go to Pintu Timur where more stalls are at but how long could one just survive on foods from stalls and not to forget on the costing of each meal. So, I decided to take this into my hands where I learned on how to cook on my own. If you are a student, living in a hostel and have been facing the same issues that I have been then here you go. Some simple recipes for you to cook at any time you would like to.

The first one would be mushroom curry. Now it may sound weird but trust me, it tastes better than the food you can get from the stalls as it is home cooked.

The ingredients (2 pax max)

1. A pack of any mushroom you prefer

2. Any brand of curry powder

3. 2 small onions finely sliced

4. 3 to 4 clover of garlics (according to your preference)

5. Salt to taste.

Firstly, wash the mushrooms and cut them into thin and long slices. After cutting, put them aside in a bowl that amounts up to the mushroom. Then, dice the garlics and slice up the onions and put them aside. Prepare a pan and heat it over a low medium heat. Once it gets heated, place your hand over the pan and count on how long you can stand the heat. If you can stand more than ten seconds then add oil into the pan. Then, add in the garlic, followed by onion into the pan. Fry them until the garlic turns into golden brown colour. Then add in the curry powder but not too much though as you do not want it to taste bitter. Mix them around well and add in some water. Set them to boil. Once the water starts boiling, add in the mushroom and let them cook for about 15 minutes. If the curry seems thick or tastes bitter then add in a little more water. Once they start to boil, add in a pinch of salt. Stir well and taste. If it seems tasteless then add in a little more salt and let it to boil for another 5 more minutes. Then you can off the stove and enjoy your mushroom curry with either rice or bread.      

Another dish would be known as ‘Lempe’ if I’m not mistaken and it is a three ingredients dish.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour (As much as you prefer)

Warm water

Salt to taste

To start off with this dish, you will have to get a huge bowl that you can stir the mixture in. Then add in the all-purpose flour to the bowl. Add in a pinch of salt followed by some warm water. Pour the water little by little instead of pouring a whole lot of it. Stir as you pour the water so that you know when to stop. Mix until the mixture is not too watery and not too thick and feels just nice with no lump in it. Then heat the pan, add a little bit of oil and use a ladle to pour a spoonful of the mixture into the pan once it is heated. Turn them every 3 to 5 minutes so that you don’t burn them. Once you’re done frying, you can either serve them with condensed milk or have them with tea for tea break.

With two simple ingredients given, I hope it eases you one way or another. You can cook your own food now than to buy food from stalls. 

A note to the little one!

Samyuktaa Vaishnavi, even her name is rare and beautiful just the way she is. Our cutest little angel she was and still is to date. I still could not seem to move on from the fact that she (my niece) is growing older day by day. Our small little Toms (her pet name), is growing inch by inch every other day. It feels like time flies too quick and that we have not had enough time to be spent with her as she is growing rapidly.

She took me by surprise right from day one, I did not expect to feel such a connection to her as I have had nieces and nephews before. If I am honest, I was a little worried that I would be a bit rubbish as an aunt by being not too interested in her in my life as she was just another addition in the family. But I began to realise that nothing could prepare me for what I felt for her as time went by. It was different to any connection I have had before. It was almost so crazy, when I held her for the first time I knew that I would do anything for her. Maybe this is what love, true love, really is – an instant, physical, visceral connection easily induced for one so little and helpless, and one who at some subconscious level I know is like one of my own.

In some ways I think it is quite selfish, driven by ego almost. I watched her, her character, willfulness and I saw me, a little Priya! I loved that, I love her spirit, her determination, her questioning and every little bit of her. I love the fact that she is happy being dressed as cinderella or any other princess! I love watching her with her little sister. It is an ace having one, there will no doubt be times when the Yakshitha (younger one) is a complete pain but I bet Toms will be doing a great job as a big sister, never doubt that just like Khavia does! If I were to tell her anything then I would definitely be saying this for her future reference so that she knows her aunts got her back always.

I. Never stop asking questions

As you get older, people tend to play this trick on you where they suggest asking questions is dumb because it “signifies” that you do not know something. I want you to know that it is okay, in fact it is more than okay to not know something and that is why you should never stop asking questions just like you have been asking me. People who pretend to have all the answers are just pretending and even your teachers will sometimes.

II. Have fun and play lots

Play with the dolls, babies and be girly for all that you want, but play with the lego, football and swords too. Dress up, pretend, make believe and discover. Play often and when you get older make time to play, life can be a lot of fun but sometimes it is easy to forget that if you work too hard. Do not take things too seriously as you will have a long way to go and you are too young to be taking things seriously.

III. Do not worry about what to do when you grow up

When I was growing up, people were always nagging me to decide what I wanted to be as a grown up, I never knew. Sometimes I wanted to be a swimmer, I never did any of those, and I am still not sure what to do when I grow up and I am four times older than you, so do not worry about it. You will make good decisions when they come along and I will always be here to guide you. .

IV. Last but not least, be friendly and love freely

This will probably seem a bit obvious. Life is much better if you are friendly, look out for people, share your friendship and love. As you get older you might find some people are not what you hoped they were, some people might let you down but do not take it personally. At some point, you will realize that it is not worth worrying about. The strange thing is if you worry too much, and try to protect yourself from being hurt, you miss out on so much in life like I did. Do not worry about being hurt, or losing friends, be friendly and kind and people will be good back. You will hear about lots of nasty and scary things in life but most people are good, and most things are positive as the proverb goes “What goes around, comes around”. So be genuine in giving love. 

So there you go some thoughts from me as you grow older. You might not understand this now but you will smile seeing this one day knowing I always had your back. 

A Pop Icon who thrilled the world

A Pop Icon who thrilled the world

Michael Joseph Jackson or better known as his stage name, Michael Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. He was well known for his contributions to music, dance, fashion and along with his publicized personal life which made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. As the eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his stage debut with elder brothers in 1964.

The group known as The Jackson Five, entered professional music in 1967 singing with Steeltown records and releasing ten singles during that time. Michael then began his solo carrier in 1971 and soon became a dominant figure in popular music. His singles such as ‘Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller’ broke racial barriers around the world and were the chart of toppers for a number of weeks.

These songs were soon world famous and broke a couple of records along its fame. Michael also introduced ‘The Moonwalk’ which made the people around the world go crazy over for it which later became his signature move. During his professional carrier, Jackson has won hundreds of awards making him the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music. Jackson was also humble by his world renown fans for his society/charity works during his years.

On June 25^th 2009, the world was shocked to hear Jackson’s sudden death and outpoured grieved to his family and friends. The news of his sudden death was shocking and massive as world famous websites such as twitter, Wikipedia and the popular search engine, Google faced crashes and user overloads when the news first broke out. The people around the world searched for his biography and started mourning over his death. Millions of people around the world watched the memorial service of Michael which was held near Los Angeles. The live telecast of his memorial service was one of the most watched in the United States of America with viewers around 31 million approximately. Even after Michael’s sudden death, his music, fame and contribution in music still lives on. His loyal fans around the world still adore him till now.

Celebrities such as Usher, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer also praise him for his big influence in the world of pop music. Jackson’s legacy in music is a true inspiration for every human being. The King of Pop is never to be replaced and forever will remain in the hearts of those who still adore for his contributions.

The media has commonly referred to Jackson as the "King of Pop" because, throughout his career, he transformed the art of music videos and paved the way for modern pop music. For much of Jackson's career, he had an unparalleled worldwide influence over the younger generation through his musical and humanitarian contributions. His music and videos, such as Thriller, fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster and steered its focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. Jackson's work continues to influence numerous artists of various music genres.

Danyel Smith, the chief content officer of Vibe Media Group and the editor-in-chief of Vibe describes Jackson as "The Greatest Star”. AllMusic's Steve Huey describes Jackson as "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power”. BET described Jackson "as quite simply the greatest entertainer of all time" and someone who "revolutionized the music video and brought dances like the moonwalk to the world.

Jackson's sound, style, movement and legacy will continue to inspire artists of all genres although he is no more. 

A Field trip to the Raja Tun Uda Public Library

I have never been to public libraries before due to many unstated reasons. One of it mainly is due to lack of transportation facility somehow or rather. Being so, one day we students of class 6 Sastera 2 were given the opportunity by our class teacher to go to a public library located in Shah Alam which I have never heard of for an assignment purpose. It’s known as Raja Tun Uda Public Library or more commonly as Perpustakaan Raja Tun Uda. With full of enthusiasm, I surfed the web to get the gist on how the library looks and if it is worth going to. To my surprise, I was absolutely baffled by all the images that showed up in the search engines. I thought it was just a fake picture and let it go through as I did not want keep my expectations high.

The following week, it was our fieldtrip day and all of us were looking forward to going to the library. Upon arriving at the library, the entrance looked exactly how it was in the picture I saw. Slightly thrilled and excited, we entered the library. It was nothing much at the beginning as the entrance looked like a receptionist table at any office. We were allowed to visit the kids section on the right part of the library as we reached early. I was stunned to see it. That section was completely designed for kids with storybooks, board games, play station and many more. And then we were directed to the actual part of the library which was located on the left side. Man, I was out of words to describe what I was seeing right in front of me. Words will not live up to the description on how majestic that library looked.

The best I would say for it was complete with up to date gadgets and not to mention that 6D cinema. Besides the normal facilities typical of a library, one can also exercise here to get their body in shape. There are gyms with the latest equipment that one can use while they are there. Coin lockers are also provided for them to keep their bags while visiting the library. Computers with internet connection are also available for rent for RM1/hour. This library overlooks the lake which is located just next to the the building and provides a good view from the library.

As for the membership, residents of Selangor can apply for FREE membership using their MYKAD. Each member can borrow up to 3 books for 3 weeks. Renewal of the books can be done by phone after that provided no one has placed a booking for the books. Audio video CDs/DVDs can be borrowed if one joins as a member of the audio video section. The membership fee is RM20/year. One can borrow up to 3 CD/DVD for 3 weeks. Weekly activities are also carried out and visitors of any age could participate in them.

I fell in love with that library so much so that I would be spending my entire weekend over there if only I had a car. Had no heart to leave the library that made me feel like I was on a magical land throughout my trip there. We were quite sad that it the trip came to an end too quick. 

The Time I was A Bridesmaid! >_<

It is a very common thing to have a bridesmaid and groomsman in a wedding. In an Indian traditional wedding, a bridesmaid will be the groom’s sister whereas the groomsman will the bride’s brother. In this case, I was chosen to be the bridesmaid for my cousin brother's wife-to-be. All the while when my aunt told me of it, I thought she was kidding but it was when we all went to get the wedding saree for the bride that I knew how serious they were about me being the bridesmaid. I was absolutely stunned. It’s not like I was given a choice or anything. Besides, in our culture, it is common for the elders to decide on behalf of us.

So I had to be the first to wake up since I have to go and fetch the bride to the hall and with a mere 3 hours of sleep, I was exhausted. My cousin sister took about 2 hours to get me ready from tying the saree and doing my make up and hair. And dad then sent me over to my cousin's house so that I could follow my cousin brother's friend to fetch the bride. It's a ritual like that a bridesmaid must follow to fetch the bride and we youngsters have not much words to say in this situation but to follow. Once reaching there, I was told to walk my then future sister-in-law to the car and so I did as I was told to. Then we headed to the hall where more rituals were done. 

Before stepping into the hall, the bridesmaid will have to perform a simple ritual whereby the bridesmaid  will apply a 'Tilak' which is a distinctive spot of coloured powder or paste in red on to the bride's forehead. I have no idea on the specific reason of doing so but yes I did what I was told to. Thousands of pictures will be taken every step you take, from the moment you sit in the car till the end of the wedding. 

Moving on, the bride and groom will be sitting separately on the alter to perform some rituals before they sit together. What is meant by separately is that, firstly, the groomsman will assist the groom to the alter. Then, the both of them will perform a ritual as the priest tells them to. Same goes to the bride and the bridesmaid. 

Walking the bride to the alter! :3 

Honestly saying, it is embarrassing to walk in front of hundreds of people all dolled up in  traditional attire! For an introvert like me, it's even worse! >_<

Last but no least, once I was done with the rituals, I was asked to wait near the alter by the priest. Moments before, my cousin brother tied the knot I was given a HEAVY oil lamp and was told to stand behind them holding it. I don't really remember the purpose as I was so frustrated being told to stand at the back before "THE MOMENT" but yeah. 

Holding that HEAVY oil lamp! 

And though it was a tiring day, I'd say I had a good experience and had fun doing all those things that I had only seen all this while. 

What you can do during leisure time!

I often spend my leisure time watching television and surfing the web but recently, I found out there is much more that could be done during that period.  I believe the answer goes against what many of us have been taught about how to spend our free time. From early childhood we have been taught to divide everything to do into two groups, work and leisure. Work consists of all the things we need to do and leisure is everything else.  It can sometimes require planning.

To begin with, you can try replacing some low-energy task with a more engaging one. You can start by making a plan for it. Free time will only become useful to you if you have focused on how you would like to use it. Simply expecting free time to turn productive, creative, or fulfilling will not bring it about because you have not thought about the process needed to fill that time effectively. Your first realization should be that it is up to you to "do something" about making your free time work better for you as it is not going to come from somewhere or someone else, only from your choice to make it useful time. 
Your second realization is to make up your own mind as to what you define as "useful". Relaxing, doing nothing, rejuvenating, and thinking are all "useful" activities if they lead to a better, more fulfilled life. Write down a list of the things you would like to be doing in your free time. You can rank it any way you like, or treat everything as equally important on it; that's up to you. Keep a journal about your life and include how you would like your life to be. Be sure to describe the activities you're trying out in your free time, so that you can evaluate whether or not they are worth continuing to do. Create a visualization board that sets out the ways in which you'd like to spend future free time.

Other than that, you can always volunteer. If you have already volunteered, you will be aware of the benefits it can bring. If you have enough free time to give of your time to others in need, this can be a very fulfilling way to give back to your community or society. And it would be even better if you get to choose what to volunteer in according to what you believe in, and what you think is most important. Search for volunteer opportunities through asking people you know who already volunteer, by searching online or in the volunteer pages, or asking people who work in places you would like to volunteer for. Whatever your level of experience, there is likely to be a volunteer opportunity for you and with time, you can build knowledge, expertise, and reputation through volunteering and find it becomes an incredibly fulfilling experience that helps many others.

Volunteer as much or as little as you like. You're giving up your free time for a worthy cause, so you should enjoy it. Even consider volunteering in different places at different times, to give yourself some variety in both experience and the people you meet.

The two things listed above was just mere idea of what could be done during leisure time as there are many other things that could be done as well. You can even google for ideas and there are limitless sources out there for you to find something to fill up your leisure time so get to it and start working today!